Delicious Library 3 is here, and it’s a beast

Our exclusive interview with creator Wil Shipley on what went into DL3.

When I was a kid, I begged my parents to line the walls of my room with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. I loved collecting books, and it was my early teenage dream to catalogue everything on my Motorola Mac clone (Starmax 3000 FTW!) so I could run a privately owned lending library for my peers out of, well, my parents' house. Back then, I was relegated to creating a giant list of books in a text file along with their ISBNs, basic descriptions, and current lending status—certainly no cover photos—that I would send out to friends via e-mail.

What I wouldn't have given back then for software like Delicious Library. An OS X application first released by Delicious Monster nearly a decade ago, Delicious Library has been a useful tool to those who become obsessive about cataloging their books, DVDs, CDs, and even video games. The software has evolved some throughout the years—Delicious Library 2 is quite popular nowadays, despite some of its initial drawbacks—leading to pretty eager anticipation for the release of Delicious Library 3.

That day has now arrived. Nearly five years after the release of DL2, Delicious Library 3 is available to the public via the Mac App Store. Briefly previewed by MacRumors earlier this week, some users have already seen what the new DL3 has to offer. We here at Ars have been using it for several weeks and took the opportunity to chat with creator Wil Shipley about what went into DL3 and what lessons he learned from it.

"The first thing I learned was: don't wait five years between your releases," Shipley said. He noted Delicious Library users have been begging for a new release for years, even though they report being perfectly happy with DL2. "We had to do revisions to keep the app up-to-date for all the OS X releases and just gave away those updates. People ask 'are you guys still around as a company?' and I'm like 'are you kidding me? I'm slaving away and giving you these updates!' But I realized customers need to pay for something every once in a while or they get upset, so I decided to go ahead and work on that."

A new look and feel

DL3 has something new for everyone. On the surface, the bookshelf UI has been put into overdrive—the shelf itself now has crown molding and the entire thing has been rendered in 3D using OS X Mountain Lion's SceneKit. There are now three different light sources pointed at the bookshelf to boost the visuals, and perhaps most jarring (at first), the items on your bookshelf move to face your cursor. It's as if they've come alive and decided to keep an eye on your every move.

"We cranked up all the visuals and then cranked down every visual effect so it was something you didn't notice very much," Shipley said. "This has all the graphics effects and polish of a game from a couple years ago. As far as I know, nobody else has used OpenGL in consumer products like this at all, much less the environment mapping and other stuff like that."

Delicious Library's new look might not be for everybody—it can take some getting used to—but that's hardly the only new feature added to this release. The update that has generated the most interest is DL3's new companion app for iOS that allows users to scan book, CD, or DVD barcodes with their devices instead of using the clunky computer.

Finally: a mobile barcode scanner

The app works over Wi-Fi and users can pair it with a Mac (or Macs, as the case may be) by using their iOS devices to scan a barcode on the DL3 screen. "The barcode is a coupon barcode that has a one-use password embedded in it," Shipley explained. "The iPhone sends that password to the Macs it sees, it has the password and an identifier, and it'll send the password until it matches up with a Mac."

This does mean that the barcode scanner app needs to be on the same network as the Mac it's syncing with, but it doesn't need to be on the same LAN in order to scan your library. Users can take an iPhone out of range, to work, to a friend's house, or anywhere else to scan a stack of books and the app will store the information until it gets back on the network where the library Mac is located. Once it sees the Mac in question, it syncs the stored data back with the original library.

"We realized if we do an iPhone scanner, people don't have to buy an expensive Bluetooth scanner," Shipley told Ars. "People have been clamoring for it for years now—scanning with iOS was the number one most requested user feature. If I'd have been smarter, I'd have released the scanner with version 2.8 or something."

Indeed, the iOS scanner app transforms Delicious Library from a "pretty cool Mac app if you're willing to drag all your books over to your computer or vice versa" to a much more accessible—and fun to use—app for people looking to catalog their collections.

"More relevant than a personality test"

The other significant feature update to Delicious Library comes in the form of a new pane that displays stats about your collection—and by extension, you.

"One of the things that's constantly requested is totaling up the dollar amount of your collection," Shipley said. "We just didn't know where to put that, so we thought we'd come up with this cool chart screen where people can see all these different stats about their collection. Favorite genre, authors, how has your collection changed over time. Now when you scan your stuff, now you get all these cool charts on you. It's almost more relevant than a personality test because it's stuff that you like."

And if there's anything I personally like, it's charts and stats about my own regular usage. DL3 even allows you to manually add items that you didn't scan (such as, say, Kindle books or iBooks that you don't have a physical copy of), so you can really get into building out your collection within the program in order to get a full picture of yourself.

Finally, Shipley spent some time fawning over DL3's new recommendations engine, describing it as "sort of the focus of this release." DL2's recommendations were one-dimensional (not unlike most other recommendation engines on sites like Amazon or Netflix) that would provide a handful of items similar to the one you clicked on. But Shipley—who is just as frustrated with simple recommendations as the rest of us—wanted to make DL3's recommendations better.

"This isn't about what I own, it's about getting my personality in the computer," Shipley said. "Now, if you scan your whole DVD collection, it provides a bunch of recommendations based on the aggregate of that information. Then if you rate them all, it'll refine the recommendations."

That's not where it ends, either. Shipley said he hopes to integrate Delicious Library's recommendation system (and new wish list feature) into other sites that provide media recommendations as well. "We are in talks with various sites that are very eager to work with us because we've got the best way to scan in your stuff if you're a website. None of them have a good interface for getting your books and whatnot in your computer," he said.

That's (not) all, folks

Delicious Library 3 comes with even more features, like the ability to publish your library to the Web or the ability to merge more than one scanned library together without duplicating items. ("Different people can scan different books and merge all those files together," Shipley said after telling a story about a real-life library that wanted to crowdsource the scanning of its collection.) DL2's "smart shelves," which allow you to place a set of rules so you only see certain books or DVDs on certain shelves, can now coexist with hand-arranged shelves. There are ways to save your sort criteria so you can reuse the searches easily.

The list of new additions is lengthy—probably enough to make existing Delicious Library users want to shell out for the upgrade and new users curious about what DL3 can do. The new version is a flat $25, $10 less than what DL2 cost, although there are no upgrades to DL3 from previous versions. ("There was no fair way to do them with Mac App Store and our Delicious Store customers both," Shipley said.)

And if Apple wants to make use of DL3's new design or functionality, Shipley is happy to make it available to them despite the fact that he believes Apple stole the design for iBooks from older versions of Delicious Library. "I'm just gonna go to Apple with this one and say 'look guys, I'll just license this to you. I'm happy to let you use this interface on iBooks on iOS or the Mac,'" he told Ars. "It's a beautiful interface and I'd love to get credit this time."

And on Windows, we have to deal with the unwieldy mess that is Calibre.

Well, Calibre isn't exactly the same as this. It's an ebook management program that manages the actual files not just what you claim to own. While you certainly could enter your DVD information into it...why would you?

I honestly have no idea why I would want to use a program that can tell me what DVDs and books I own if I enter that information into it. Even if I did want to, well, let's just say the skeumorphic design is completely blech.

I was into DL2 when it first came out and eagerly cataloged all my books, music and DVDs. But in the interim years between releases my life has taken a decided turn for the digital, to the extent that my music, book and video libraries are largely in digital format to begin with and cataloged in their respective apps (Kindle, iTunes, etc). I suppose DL3 still has a place amongst those who need to see everything at a glance, but now that I've mainly gotten away from physical media (except for a few choice books that will always remain on my shelf) this app seems kind of pointless and, dare I say it, dated.

I've always wanted to catalog all my books and media too, but this doesn't help me as I use Linux. Of course I'm too lazy to write something myself.

I've started using Goodreads a bit. Mostly it's nice to see what friends are reading, but it's not quite the full catalog I'd like to have.

Then again, lately I've even been reconsidering my dream of having a library full of books. I *LOVE* physical books, but ebooks are so damned convenient. And I don't have to pack and lift them when I move!

Then again, lately I've even been reconsidering my dream of having a library full of books. I *LOVE* physical books, but ebooks are so damned convenient. And I don't have to pack and lift them when I move!

Ebooks for the fun reads that don't mean much and physical (hardcovers) for the really good books/good authors. That's how I do it now. I moved last year and as a part of the move I sold the paperbacks that I could sell and donated the rest to the local library.

Then again, lately I've even been reconsidering my dream of having a library full of books. I *LOVE* physical books, but ebooks are so damned convenient. And I don't have to pack and lift them when I move!

Ebooks for the fun reads that don't mean much and physical (hardcovers) for the really good books/good authors. That's how I do it now. I moved last year and as a part of the move I sold the paperbacks that I could sell and donated the rest to the local library.

The problem is, even when I buy the book [typically Hardcover], I end up finishing another book while I'm out and about but I'm impatient, so I end up downloading the next book I wanted to read on ebook anyway. So aside from the physical joy of a shelf full of books, what's the advantage of having the book?

As it is, I strip DRM of my ebooks, if they have any to begin with, so I'll still be able to hand them down to my daughter, or let friends/family 'borrow' them.

Until I can actually afford a nice library full of physical books, and the time to sit around at home and read them, I'm having trouble justifying buying them.

Though if you are using Calibre for 'that' then I think you've missed the point of one or the other programs.

Comic books are one of those categories that practically requires it's own program.

That may be, but I would argue strongly that Calibre is not that program. Something like ComicRack might fill that void if one of the more generic programs like Data Crow doesn't fit the bill. But Calibre is not of the same genre as Delicious Library, it's core purpose is completely different from what DL's is, even if you restrict things down to just eBooks.

I've been pining for a non-Mac version of this for years. Windows, Linux, I don't even care any more. I'd be willing to run it in a VM. I've never been remotely satisfied with any of the alternatives. It got bad enough that I wrote my own web app a while back but it's a pain to load the data. I've been meaning to write a barcode scanning Android interface for it but who has the time?

And on Windows, we have to deal with the unwieldy mess that is Calibre.

Well, Calibre isn't exactly the same as this. It's an ebook management program that manages the actual files not just what you claim to own. While you certainly could enter your DVD information into it...why would you?

I honestly have no idea why I would want to use a program that can tell me what DVDs and books I own if I enter that information into it. Even if I did want to, well, let's just say the skeumorphic design is completely blech.

Ah, I see - for some reason I thought something with this slick of a UI would offer file management with it, perhaps because of the iBook discussion at the end. Possibly just wishful thinking of what Calibre would feel like with this sort of frontend, if I'm honest. So it's a fancy database GUI with flexible reporting? Useful for quantifying your life, I suppose, but kinda.... limited?

And on Windows, we have to deal with the unwieldy mess that is Calibre.

Well, Calibre isn't exactly the same as this. It's an ebook management program that manages the actual files not just what you claim to own. While you certainly could enter your DVD information into it...why would you?

I honestly have no idea why I would want to use a program that can tell me what DVDs and books I own if I enter that information into it. Even if I did want to, well, let's just say the skeumorphic design is completely blech.

Ah, I see - for some reason I thought something with this slick of a UI would offer file management with it, perhaps because of the iBook discussion at the end. Possibly just wishful thinking of what Calibre would feel like with this sort of frontend, if I'm honest. So it's a fancy database GUI with flexible reporting? Useful for quantifying your life, I suppose, but kinda.... limited?

You got it in one. In the same way Calibre is a crappy program for 'vanity displays' like having an 3D OpenGL based virtual 'shelf' to keep all your stuff on, Delicious Library is a crappy program for actually managing files.

No, this actually fails for a reason related to good old-fashioned physical books. I have a collection of around 500 books, mostly paperback and mostly science fiction, that all have cover art by the same artist. No ISBN numbers or barcodes on at least 75% of them. No barcode (but an SBN number) on my fifth printing trade paperback of Gravity's Rainbow. This is of limited use to actual book collectors.

Well, DL2 was such a crap compared to DL1, and I don't read anything in this review that makes me think they fixed it. I'm pretty sure that upgrading from DL1 to DL2 was my worst software investment in the last 10 years: I won't pay more for bad taste eye candy and poor usability.

What I'd like to know is if they finally included sources for more countries. The Netherlands has always been lacking from their list. While I realize the target market in NL is small, they're leaving it completely untapped right now.

-unrelated PS: I like skeumorphism. This particular app doesn't seem too pretty, but done well, I like it!

Just off the top of my head:

1) So one doesn't buy a duplicate, of a duplicate of that John Brunner novel -- having forgotten one already has it, just haven't read it yet.(Being able to carry a copy/listing with you in the used book stores is crucial).

I dunno, I am a big reader and have been all my life, and I have a metric shit-ton of DVDs physical books and Ebooks, both paid for and...not but I already know what titles I own and what I don't and where they are. Do people not?

I never thought I had some kind of special memory, but if anyone throws a title at me I can tell them in 2 seconds if I have it or not, and where it is from an assortment of stacked DVDs, binders full of CDs and DVDs, bookshelves or among 6 or 7 HDDs. What is this needed for again?

I desperately need some sort of library system, having about 5000 books scattered randomly around my house. Many are old - i.e.. they don't have barcodes - or the hardback covers have long been lost.

What I really need is some sort of optical character recognition system that can work out which books are which just from a photo. Ideally, from a photo of a group of books so that I can work out where the damn things are in the house.

Got this and tried it. First, it has a demo mode for 25 items. Scanner app for iOS is nice and simple. After scanning a few books and magazines, I scanned the barcode from a box of large disposable tote bags, and it got found. Then I scanned the UPC from a remote control, which also worked. It would be nice to have a portable companion app to show one's collection. Otherwise, there are enough scanner driven apps that return different levels/kinds/amounts of information, that one could get by with multiple apps doing slightly different things. However, an app that can do a bit more is always welcome.

The 'the bookshelf UI' is a clone of GOG.com's library UI. Every time I look at Apple products (or software written for Apple products) I don't see the innovation they constantly tout, only the duplication of other people's work. Good job.

Er, no.

GOG was launched August 2008. Delicious Library was launched November 2004, and had wood shelving from the beginning.